Facebook’s News Feed to Prioritise Local News over National News

Facebook says they are making changes and it wants you to see more local news on your news feed from your news sources in your local city or town.  This, they say, will allow you to see the news that has a direct impact on you.

“If you follow a local publisher or if someone shares a local story, it may show up higher in News Feed,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

“Local news helps build community – both on and offline. It’s an important part of making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is valuable,” Zuckerberg said in a Facebook statement on Monday.

Zuckerberg claims that people constantly told him they want to see more local news on Facebook, with feedback including “local news helps us understand the issues that matter in our communities and affect our lives.”

The prioritisation of local news will firstly start in the United States before extending to other countries. Zuckerberg says: “Our goal is to expand to more countries this year.”

Recently, the social media company made several changes and it’s clear that the changes were part of the company’s initiative to show more “high quality trusted news”.

“We’re making a series of updates to show more high quality, trusted news. Last week we made an update to show more news from sources that are broadly trusted across our community,” said Zuckerberg.

Not only will the new method allow you to read what is going on in your community, it will also create a sense of engagement among the community members.

According to Zuckerberg research suggests that reading local news is directly correlated with civic engagement. People who know what’s happening around them are more likely to get involved and help make a difference.

By Wendy Mothata

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